Designer Magazine have interviewed Funeral For A Friend
several times previously so we thought we'd let the fans ask the questions
this time as we met Matt, Darren and Gareth on the Taste Of Chaos tour
in Manchester. A sneaky peak on their message board revealed that the fans
were as equally concerned with Matt's new haircut as they were with the
"calm" new sound on the bands second full release album "Hours" so we mixed
up your thread titles in an entirely random manner, downed a few stella's
and took to the dressing room past over zealous security at the Manchester
Apollo

Q: What FFAF lyric do you like most?Matt: All of them unless I wouldn’t have wrote
them, but definitely not “And I'm nothing more than a line in a book” cos
it’s played to death. I like the chorus lyrics to “Escape Artists Never
Die” because it’s a little call to arms. The whole “we’ll start a fire”
brings up so many images and the whole thing about making it on your own
and not relying on too many things. I guess it’s just the fact that it’s
so direct and to the point

When I'm writing lyrics it’s just where I am at the time
so it might me sat at my laptop or just on a scrap of paper.

Darren: I think you normally write a load of things
off the top of you head and then you start to form them and adapt them
with the melody in mind

Matt: Yeah, they all start off as really abstract
short stories. I used to have this book full of them, but I’ve moved all
that over to my laptop now because it’s easier than having a pile of stained
pissy pieces of paper with indecipherable lyrics. My handwriting is rubbish,
it is like a child’s so I have to get the rest of the band to read them
back to me. At least with a laptop it’s acceptable and then you spell check,
god bless spell check.

Q: Hours – better than Casually Dressed & Deep
In Conversation?Matt: Yes. It’s just a progression. Saying that
one is better than other is just really weird because they were both written
at different points and times of both our career and individually

Darren: I still love “Casually Dressed” but it
is different than “Hours”. It’s hard to compare them really.

Matt: I think we like “Hours” more now because
it is so new to us

Darren: And probably the same with the next record.
We’ll probably be into that far more than “Hours”

Q: The thing about “Hours” is it stands up as an album
whereas “Casually Dressed” seemed like a compilationDarren: Yeah. That was the worst thing about “Casually
Dressed”, is that we had some of the songs from the earlier EP’s on it,
so it didn’t feel like we were giving value for money in that way. It was
nice to have an album of completely new songs this time.

Matt: To actually sit down and actually write a
complete set of new songs. We approached it how we’d usually approach anything
– we’d come up with the ideas and just keep working on them. There were
certain songs on the album that we were sure weren’t going to be on the
album and then we recorded them and it was like these songs are actually
really good.

Darren: I do think we have progressed as far as
songwriting and the chemistry in the band. We’ve been touring for so long
by the came we came round to recording we understood each other a lot more
than we did on the first album

Matt: The way I kind of like to see it in my head
is it’s like making a meal from scratch rather than getting out a ready
meal, it’s a lot more satisfying when it comes together

Q: So the Taste Of Chaos tour, each band is a starter
and you guys are the main course?Matt: Are we the main course or are we the dessert? We’re
the sweet that’s seriously bad for you

Q: How do you classify Funeral For A Friend? I guess
when you came out you were tagged an emo band, but now you’re nothing like
itMatt: Post whatever. Anything that was cool at
the time we got thrown at us and I'm a bit disappointed grunge never came
up yer know, cos then we’d have had the complete catalogue of genre’s thrown
at us

Darren: I think when we first few songs we totally
fitted into the whole screamo thing. We were such a new band we were just
trying to find ourselves really. Since we’ve developed the sound we’ve
gone away more and more from that. No disrespect to that scene because
it gave us a big helping hand in establishing our name, we just drifted
away from that.

Gareth: Were a working class rock band, that’s
what we are (laughs). I think it’s the most accurate way to describe what
we given our backgrounds and it’s still very much ingrained in us. We’re
not keen in elevating our status above what we are comfortable being as
individuals.

Matt: I still live at home with my parents, but
that’s all about to change soon. We’re never going to be a band who have
a big Mansion with 12 Porsches.

Q: And the new haircut, is that something to try and
escape the emo tag?Matt: You kinda feel that on some occasions as
the more important thing and it should always be about the music. Granted
I had my haircut like this because it was convenient, but im glad I got
it because it was like f**k it, im not dictated by the way I look.

Darren: He broke a few girls hearts when he did
that, but I think he should have kept it what it was like when it was originally
cut – a Mohawk.

Q: Why are the new songs so calm?Matt: What??? (Gasps). You mean why are 3 of the
new songs…have they not listened to the record. “Drive” understandably
is obviously a very pensive thoughtful tune, as is “History” I guess as
well. “Sunny” is a glorified rocked up electro Depeche Mode pastiche.

Darren: I think we definitely tried to do something
different on this album just to keep it interesting for ourselves. We’ve
got to please ourselves first of all whether people like it or not.

Matt: There wasn’t any intention to make it sound
calmer (laughs). That’s really baffled us, we’ll have to go on the forums
and just go CALMER

Q: Where do you see yourselves going in the future,
because I was trying to think of a band who’s career projectorary you’re
following and the name I came up with was Idlewild?Darren: Like Matt just said, we don’t pre-plan
how the songs are going to sound. They just develop the way they develop

Matt: It’s always about satisfying that creative
side for yourself. Being in a band with 5 of us it can take a lot of time
to get satisfaction individually. You have to be able to stand away from
it and look at it as a whole because otherwise it can seem like a job.

Gareth: I think we’ve learnt the lesson that most
bands do when they get asked the question where are you going next. We’re
going to do songs that “it’s heavier, it’s softer, it’s more melodic”.
You know it’s going to disappoint someone when you come out with a cliché
like the heavier parts are heavier and the softer parts are softer.

Darren: The next songs are gonna be superheavy
like Cannibal Corpse…but we’d have to get Ryan on vocals for that one

Q: Snap, it’s always being asked – will Ryan ever make
his solo album?Gareth: I think he’d like to. We know he can do
one and it would be interesting to see if he could pull it off. I’ve seen
him do some guest vocals onstage and he doesn’t look the most comfortable
once he comes out from behind his drum kit.

Q: And weren’t you (Matt) trying to set up another
hardcore project about a year ago?Matt: I was trying, but given this bands schedule
I think it was wishful thinking. If I started off a side project now, it
would be alternative country with hardcore.

Darren: I think all of us time allowing would delve
off into other areas with either a couple of us involved or other people
involved

Matt: Part of me misses the really fast stuff like
“Art Of American Football”. It’s all about what we were saying before about
pleasing the God Of Creativity around us.

IF YOU LISTEN TO FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND YOU MAY LISTEN
TO THESE

A quick glimpse on Funeral For A Friends forum reveals
that their fans have an eclectic music taste so we thought we'd quiz the
band themselves on their own musical taste.

My Chemical Romance“We’ve know those guys for a while and they’re still
awesome guys. They’re one of the hardest working bands we know and they’ve
earned everything that’s come to them” Gareth FFAF

The Darkness“Shit. I’ve never liked that band. Musically they’re
just not my cup of tea, but the first time we met them they were ok. Since
they made it though Dan’s the only one who’s stayed cool, the rest of them
are a bunch of f**king dicks. I'm sure the second album will be just as
successful though” Matt FFAF

Fightstar“I actually don’t mind Fightstar. I think they write
really cool songs and Charlie’s a nice guy. It’s so f**king easy to criticise
his background, but take that away and he’s in a band who right good f**king
rock songs. They know how to write a catchy chorus or two” Matt FFAF

Trivium“They’re talented and they do what they do really f**king
well. You can tell that they genuinely have been listening to metal for
a few years rather than other bands who claim they have, but have only
been listening to metal that for 2 years to fit in with fashion. Are we
talking about another Welsh band? (laughs)” Darren FFAF

Arctic Monkeys“I’ve only heard the one song, the one that’s at number
1. I read some review that they were like the Sex Pistols and someone else,
but I didn’t get the Sex Pistols thing. I’d have to hear a few more songs
to make a genuine comment on these guys, but it’s good how they built up
their following through the net before anyone else picked up on em” Darren
FFAF

Bloc Party”My girl was on tour with these guys, but she’s now out
on the road with the Kaiser Chiefs. They’re one of the only bands around
at the moment where there drum and bass control the groove. I'm glad I’m
not that hardcore music kid I was because I’d have never been allowed to
listen to Bloc Party” Gareth FFAF